At Least 1,000 Words: Signe Wilkinson on the Boy Scouts, Pope Francis, and the Gays

Signe Wilkinson of Truthdig commenting this morning on, well, all kinds of things that I think will be obvious to you as you think about the cartoon . . . .

Some Updates on Previous Stories: Little Rock Catholic School Abuse Case, Altoona, Wisconsin, Boy Scouts and Catholic Parish

Some updates on stories about which I've posted here in the not-too-distant past:

Gay Boy Scouts, Catholic Response, and Welcome of Gays: Keeping Catholics Doors Open (or Slamming Them Shut?)

At his Spiritual Politics blog, Mark Silk compares the response of the U.S. Catholic bishops and the leaders of the LDS church to last week's vote to accept openly gay Boy Scout members. Catholic bishops: zipped lips. Mormon leaders: a public (if gingerly) statement of acceptance.

Yesterday's Boy Scouts' Decision: A Selection of Responses

At The New Civil Rights Movement, David Badash helpfully offers the complete text of yesterday's Boy Scouts' statement accepting gay Scouts (but barring gay Scout leaders). And then Badash also helpfully provides a selection of responses to the Boy Scouts' decision.

U.S. Catholic Bishops: From Boy Scouts to Immigration Reform, Intent to Target Gays Remains Constant

I'm struck by a statement Richard Land makes to Zach Wahls in this debate about lifting the ban on openly gay Boy Scouts and Scout leaders. Land is head of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Wahls, who was raised by a lesbian couple, has become a national spokesperson for LGBT rights, though he himself is straight. The Southern Baptists are helping to lead the national fight to keep exclusion of openly gay Scouts and Scout leaders in place, and their president Fred Luter has stated that including gays in the Scouts contravenes "biblical principles."

Boy Scout Perversion Files and the Scouts' Ban on Openly Gay Leaders and Scouts

In an NPR Talk of the Nation segment, Neal Conan talks with Los Angeles Times investigative reporter Jason Felch and child psychologist Polly Dunn about the recently opened Boy Scout "perversion files."  And the following statement by Felch leaps out at me: